FR-4 PCB Laminate is the most commonly used base material for printed circuit boards. The “FR” means Flame Retardant (to UL94V-0), and Type “4” indicates woven glass reinforced epoxy comprising resin. In addition, the FR-4 Laminate has to pass solder bath tests. In order to make resins flame retardant the addition of bromine, phosphorous, chlorine containing compounds, fillers or the use of special flame retardant backbones is necessary. However, such solutions to make a composition flame retardant based in particular on bromine or phosphorous compounds have as a rule one or several drawbacks:                They are not soluble in solvents and hence cause problems in terms of processing.        They show poor oxidative stabilities at elevated temperatures.        Additives are very often responsible for a decrease of the glass transition levels.        Very often poor physical properties (for example delaminations) of the cured resins are been observed, especially when phosphorous compounds are present.        Toxic gases of combustion may form in case of fire, especially when halogenated compounds are present.        
An alternative, albeit not entirely satisfactory, approach is disclosed in JP 2001-220455, where prepregs and laminates free from halogen and phosphorus compounds are described as having good characteristics with regard to burning resistance, heat resistance and electrical properties. The composition comprises a phenol compound (for example, bisphenol F, phenol novolac or cresol phenol novolac), secondly, an epoxidized phenol compound of the phenol compound mentioned, thirdly, a dihydrobenzoxazine (for example, having a phenol novolac or a cresol novolac backbone) and, finally, an inorganic flame retardant (for example, aluminium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, molybdenum oxide, molybdic acid zinc, boric acid zinc or mixtures thereof).
Thus, there is still an unmet need for improved compositions suitable, in particular, for use in FR-4 Laminate.